''Dear Abby'' is an American

advice column An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are w ...

founded in 1956 by

Pauline Phillips Pauline Esther Phillips (born Friedman; July 4, 1918 – January 16, 2013), also known as Abigail Van Buren, was an American advice columnist and radio show host who began the well-known Dear Abby, ''Dear Abby'' newspaper column in 1956. It beca ...

under the pen name "Abigail Van Buren" and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name.

History

According to Pauline Phillips, she came up with the pen name ''Abigail Van Buren'' by combining the name of Biblical figure

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death (1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's third wife, after Ahinoam and Saul's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married to ...

in the Book of Samuel, with the last name of former US president

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

. The column was syndicated by the McNaught Syndicate from 1956 until 1966, when it moved to

Universal Press Syndicate Universal Press Syndicate (UPS), a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger ...

. ''Dear Abby'''s current syndication company claims the column is "well-known for sound, compassionate advice, delivered with the straightforward style of a good friend." By 1987, over 1,200 newspapers ran the column. Abby was born Pauline Esther Friedman, and her twin sister was born Esther Pauline Friedman. Pauline was known as Popo, and her sister was Eppie (a nickname from E.P.).

Ask Ann Landers

Pauline Phillips started her Dear Abby column a few months after her twin sister, Eppie Lederer, took over the ''Ask Ann Landers'' column. This produced a rivalry and lengthy estrangement between the two sisters. On February 13, 1987, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' announced that the ''Ann Landers'' column was moving to the ''Tribune'', which had published the ''Dear Abby'' column for years. The ''Tribune'' ran both columns, ''Landers'' every day and ''Abby'' six days a week. In comparing the columns written by each of the sisters, the

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brook ...

wrote that "Both columns were characterized by a straightforward tone, practical advice, and a firm but modern moral sensibility" and that "both women used humor, including sarcasm and one-liners, in their responses."

Authorship changes

Pauline Phillips wrote the column herself until 1987, at which time her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, began writing the column with her. In December 2000, the elder Phillips wrote a column identifying her daughter as her "co-creator" and added, "I will continue to work on this column until my Maker calls me home." Twenty months later, the Phillips family revealed that Pauline was suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Although the change in authorship took place in 2000, the official statement—which included adding "''Dear Abby'' is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips" to the bottom of each column—was not made until July 2002. Pauline Phillips died on January 16, 2013, aged 94.

Impact

''Dear Abby'' (which had a readership estimated at 110 million in 2016) was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a staple in American households for decades" and has also been accused of being out of step with changing times. A 2016 column claimed a "breakdown of communication" led to the sexual assault of a teen girl. A 2018 column which said that, due to possible teasing and difficulty pronouncing, traditional Western names may be preferable for mixed-race newborns being raised in a Western country, gave rise to accusations of

xenophobia Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

References

External links